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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25890802">The Prince &amp; His Knight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember360/pseuds/Ember360'>Ember360</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Adventure Zone (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Royalty, Knight!Fitzroy, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prince!Argo, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:02:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,027</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25890802</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember360/pseuds/Ember360</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt ends up being assigned to an extremely important task; Keep Prince Argonaut out of trouble. </p><p>It proves to be a much more difficult mission than he originally made it out to be.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Argo Keene/Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Prince &amp; His Knight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Argo is restless. Jackal tries to find a solution.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A figure snuck through the shadows of the castle. Nimble feet silently danced through the corridors, careful consideration in each step. Moonlight glinted off of the top of a sheathed rapier, but when the guards turned to look, they spotted no-one. </p><p>The figure slipped through the hallways undetected. At last, they reached their destination- the prince's chambers. With a deep breath, they made sure their cloak concealed their weapon. Then they entered.</p><p> "Your highness," the noble inside greeted them with a nod.</p><p> Argo groaned, scuffing the floor with his shoe. He had been so sneaky this time! He was sure he wouldn't get caught! "Hiya, Jackal." </p><p> "Hello to you too, Prince Argonaut. Now, what are we doing up at this hour?" The kenku inquired. He sat in the chair by Argo's desk with a disapproving expression.</p><p>"Just uhhh... Using the restroom?" </p><p>"Don't lie to me, Argonaut. I know you don't need to take a sword with you to go to the bathroom. You went out of the palace again, didn't you?" </p><p>The prince sputtered at the royal advisor's accusation. "Whaaaat? Me? Out- outside the castle? What, no, no, of course not, no, I- Yeah. Alright. Yeah I was... out." Argo shuffled his feet and looked down at the floor sheepishly. He hated getting in trouble with Jackal. It always made him feel incredibly guilty. </p><p>Jackal sighed and stood. "Listen, your highness, I know things have been very difficult for you for the past few months. And I thought that maybe things were getting better, since you've been more out and about lately, but- but this is gettin' outta hand."</p><p>"Yeah... Five stages of grief, am I right?" Argo chuckled. It was not a happy laugh. </p><p>Jackal looked at him in pity. "I know, I know... It's just- worrying. The rules, the guards, the restrictions; They're all for your own good. You're the only heir to the throne, you need to be kept safe. Your father... Gods bless him, but ever since... you're this kingdom's source of hope, Argonaut. You are its future." </p><p>"Okay, okay," Argo walked up to his dresser and hung up his cloak. "You don't have to wax poetic. I- I know there's a reason I'm supposed to stay inside I just- I'm-" <i>I'm lonely</i>. "I'm restless."</p><p> "Aye, I get that," Jackal said as he watched the prince remove his rapier. "But defying the rules and sneaking out at night to go to- god knows where- isn't a great way to cope with that. How about... How about we organize another outing? You could go shopping?"</p><p> "Hm, right, and inconvenience the whole town while a ton of guards breathe down my neck. Sounds thrilling!" Jackal frowned, and Argo sighed. "I'm sorry. I know you're all just trying to keep me safe. But... I'm an adult, you know? I think I can at least somewhat do that myself. Or at least I'd like to imagine I can."</p><p>Jackal considered his words. "Alright then... I will try to find a different solution to this predicament. In the meantime, I am going to need that weapon, Argonaut." </p><p> "But-"</p><p> "No, no buts. You don't need it." </p><p> Argo sighed again and gently placed his rapier into Jackal's claws. The royal advisor nodded approvingly. </p><p> "Thank you, Argonaut. We will find a way to fix this. I promise."</p><p>Argo hummed. "Yeah. Okay."</p><p>Jackal walked out of his room and into the hallway with one last nod. He locked the door behind him. </p><p>Argo watched as he went, carefully listening to the tapping of the kenku's talons against the floor. Once he felt that Jackal was far away enough, he shot up from his bed. He slipped towards the glass door of his balcony, only to find that the door had been locked. </p><p>"Dammit," Argo hissed. He looked around his room, at his unmade bed, and messy desk and cluttered nightstand. </p><p>The prince picked up the children's books off his nightstand and replaced them with a candle. He lit a match, and stared at the gently flickering flame for a moment, before returning to his books. Argo opened the first one and sat down on his bed.</p><p>His eyes were tired, but he refused to let them rest.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>---</p>
</div>"Fitzroy, I need you to come with me." Fitzroy looked up at Crush in confusion. What did the captain need <i>him</i> for? Was he in trouble? Maybe he was getting a new assignment?<p>"Y- Yes sir," the knight replied with a nod, trying not to let his anticipation be <i>too</i> obvious. </p><p>Fitzroy followed the captain of the guard out of the barracks and down the hallways of the castle. How should he be acting? Attentive? Nonchalant? What was the etiquette for such a situation? </p><p>"You can calm down, Fitzroy, you're not in trouble," Crush reassured him as they turned the corner. He stopped at a door to one of the meeting rooms. "You just have a new assignment from Jackal."</p><p>"The royal advisor? What would- what does <i>he</i> want?"</p><p>"Well you're about to find out," Crush said. He opened the door to the room and walked inside. Fitzroy followed him, and saw Jackal sitting alone at a table, waiting for them. </p><p>"Aye, you're here," Jackal said. He nodded towards Fitzroy's direction. "I assume you're Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt?" </p><p>"Yes sir." Fitzroy bowed and took his seat right beside Crush. "It's an honor to be in the presence of a member of the king's court." <i>Now could someone</i> please <i>explain what the hell is going on?</i></p><p>"Have you told him anything?" Jackal asked Crush.</p><p> "No." </p><p> Fitzroy's foot tapped against the floor impatiently. "Would you like to discuss it with me now or...?"</p><p> "Yes, yes... Um, as I'm sure you know, with the recent passing of Sh- her- her majesty, the royal family's fallen into a rather... unstable state. Recently, the prince has become more and more restless and he's been sneaking off during the night, which, as you can probably tell, is extremely dangerous. If my suspicions are correct, I think the boy's feeling isolated. Which is where you come in."</p><p>Fitzroy stared at the kenku in shock. He looked between Crush and Jackal, unsure if they were telling him the truth or just pulling his leg. "Do you- Are you saying you want me to guard the <i>prince</i>?!"</p><p> "Yes. You're his age, and I feel like having someone like that by his side may help him. From what Crush has told me, you're a good kid- you'll be a good influence on him."</p><p> "Plus," Crush began to add. "You're top of your rank. Disciplined, a hard worker. You're one of the youngest in your division and yet you manage to one up almost everyone. As your captain, I feel that the safest hands his highness could be in are yours."</p><p>Fitzroy continued to stare at them, mouth agape. Serving a member of the royal family? That was the highest honor a knight could receive, a huge step up from his current post. Fitzroy had been working his entire life for such an opportunity. "I- I would be honored, that is- That is amazing, this is- Thank you." It was too good to be true. Were they tricking him? What was the catch?</p><p>"The position is yours as long as you're willing to accept the circumstances of the job," Jackal said. </p><p>"Yes, I, um... I don't quite understand them fully, yet, so if you could go into more detail on that...?" Fitzroy asked, a bit embarrassed. This was all happening so suddenly, his mind barely had time to process it all. </p><p>"Well, it's- I know it's sort of an unusual thing to ask of a guard, but I think having another person his age around might help, just someone to hang around with or- or talk to I guess..." Jackal twiddled his claws, starting to look uncomfortable. </p><p>"Like- like a friend?" </p><p>"Yeah, yeah." Jackal looked up at Crush for help.</p><p>The dragonborn cleared his throat. "Fitzroy, I think Jackal here is trying to ask for you to not only be the prince's guard and protector, but also his confidante. Someone to keep him from feeling isolated- And that doesn't necessarily mean you have to befriend him. In my personal opinion, doing that might distract from your main goal- which is, and will always be- keeping him out of trouble." </p><p>"Yes, yes, that's exactly it. Thank you Crush."</p><p>"I- I think I can do that. I, uh- I accept these terms. Sir." Fitzroy tried to suppress his grin as best he could. Years and years of hard work, coming to fruition at last. <i>Too good to be true,</i> chanted a voice in his head. "Is there- is there anything else?" </p><p>"No, I think that's about it," Jackal said, and Crush nodded. "You would be starting next week, if you end up taking the assignment."</p><p>"It would be an honor to serve the prince and royal family in any way I can," Fitzroy said with a bow of his head. </p><p>Jackal smiled. "Thank you, Sir Maplecourt. Your loyalty to the crown will not go unrecognized." Jackal stood and bowed. "Crush here will give you any further instructions needed. Though, do keep in mind, this arrangement isn't necessarily permanent, we'll just have to see if it works out or not. But, from what I've heard from the Captain, I feel that it'll go fairly smoothly, as long as his highness cooperates." </p><p>"And as long as you don't have to use your magic," Crush muttered to Fitzroy. The knight swallowed and nodded. </p><p>Fitzroy's magic was strange. It wasn't inherited or even from a pact, it just sort of... showed up one day. It was uncontrollable, unpredictable... wild. So far, he hadn't lost complete control, but whenever he tried to use it, something bad happened. He was taking lessons to try and make it better, but even those usually ended up with an explosion in his face, or accidentally dying someone's hair green. So it was best to not tap into his magical capabilities. At all. Although... sometimes he wanted to. Just to see how powerful they were, how powerful <i>he</i> was. </p><p>But no. His magic was dangerous. It was bad. He wouldn't use it. </p><p>"Yes, of course not," Fitzroy whispered back. Crush nodded and stood up from the desk. </p><p>"Well, if everything's all figured out, Fitzroy has a bit of extra training- and probably some mental processing- to do." </p><p>"Of course. Thank you, Captain Crush. And you too Fitzroy. May the gods bless you," Jackal smiled, and Fitzroy bowed and thanked him one last time before following Crush outside. </p><p>The captain gave his knight a few instructions regarding extra training times, then dismissed him. As soon as he was out of Crush's sight, Fitzroy stopped to take a deep breath. He grinned and ran his hands through his hair, feeling his rings run against his scalp. This was everything he had ever wanted. Years of working twice as hard as his more fortunate peers, years of daydreaming and being the underdog, years of trying to prove his worth. Finally, it had all paid off. He was at the top now, serving the royal family themselves. And, sure, his new job was a bit unconventional. He was more on babysitting duty than actual knighthood. But he had earned it! He had earned it through sweat and blood and tears and... being the same age.</p><p>Something about that made him feel like he'd cheated at this. Like he hadn't earned it, Jackal's offer was some sort of test. This was a trick, he wasn't actually a good knight, they were just saying that because it was convenient. They didn't want him for his worth or his battle prowess, they only wanted him because he was the prince's age, because he was a "good influence". </p><p>Fitzroy took a deep breath. He was getting ahead of himself. He needed to take this all one step at a time. Before he started judging the situation, he needed to at least meet the guy he'd be protecting for the foreseeable future. A week... In almost know time at all, Fitzroy would be in the presence of royalty.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hiiii I know I said I'd finish Bloom first but this idea is better and I actually sort of know what I'm doing now hehehehe.... POV Em disappears for a month and then comes back with 3 fics because I work on them all at once hehehehe </p><p>Thank you very much to my lovely friends for encouraging me with this, I love you all very very muuuch &lt;333</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated! </p><p>You can find <a href="https://keenie.tumblr.com/">my tumblr here!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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